Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers have struggled to build consistency in the NHL. However, if there’s one team that has clearly gotten it worse, it’s the Vancouver Canucks, who are now facing anxious hours on Quinn Hughes’ future.
In what could be a major plot twist in the 2025-26 NHL season, the Rangers may swoop in for Hughes, who appears to be running out of patience with Vancouver’s mounting embarrassments.
New York wasn’t considered a serious contender in the Hughes sweepstakes—most rumors have long pointed to the Metro rival New Jersey Devils as the clear favorite. However, a new report has shifted the spotlight toward Sullivan’s Broadway Blueshirts.
“Another team to look out for is the New York Rangers,” reported David Pagnotta on The Fourth Period. “It wouldn’t shock me to see the Blueshirts taking a swing.”
Quinn Hughes during the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition
Why the move would make sense for the Rangers
In many ways, trading for Hughes could be exactly what the Rangers need in the 2025–26 season. Acquiring him would revamp their aspirations of hoisting their fifth Stanley Cup (first since 1994). Moreover, with Adam Fox out with an injury, bringing Hughes into the lineup would be the perfect replacement—and could create the best defensive pairing in the NHL once Fox returns to the ice.
see also
NHL News: Jack Hughes star teammate on NJ Devils makes something clear about potential trade for Canucks’ Quinn Hughes
Though not strictly related to the on-ice product and New York’s Stanley Cup aspirations, the Rangers would also get a sugar rush from snatching the Devils’ top target away from them. Ever since drafting Jack and Luke Hughes, fans in the Garden State have daydreamed about boasting all three Hughes brothers in the lineup.
With the Canucks languishing at the bottom of the standings and Quinn Hughes making his frustration crystal clear with the state of the franchise, now seems like the best time for New Jersey to pounce and complete the Hughes gauntlet.
Will Vancouver trade Quinn Hughes?
It’s unclear whether Vancouver will be willing to deal its best defenseman—and arguably the best in the league—just yet. If the Canucks did trade Hughes away, it would seem as if they were waving the white flag on their season—and even on their long-term hopes. For fans in Vancity, Hughes is the biggest beacon of hope.
Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes during 2024 NHL All-Star
Watching the best player on the team move on would be the straw that broke the camel’s back for the fanbase in British Columbia. General manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford are currently standing on thin ice, and pulling the trigger on such a move could very well be their last decision as employees of the Canucks organization.
Is Quinn Hughes a free agent next season?
No, Quinn Hughes is playing through the fifth season of his six-year, $47.10 million extension with the Vancouver Canucks. Thus, Hughes won’t become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2026-27 NHL campaign.
Therefore, the only shot the Rangers, Devils, or any team has of acquiring him at the moment is through a trade with the Canucks. If not, the rest of the league must wait until the 2027 free agency. Whether Hughes will want out of Vancouver by then remains to be seen.
SurveyWhere would you like to see Hughes play?
Where would you like to see Hughes play?
already voted 0 people
